Feline Fatale
by Fast-Road-To-Nowhere
Summary: She was just a child who didn't know what she was doing. But Callis made her choice and she was going to have to live with it. She put her blood, sweat and tears in to become a hero. And in the end, she become the villain.


**A/N:** This is a plot-bunny that has refused to go away, and to get some peace of mind I decided to write this and post it. I have a basic plotline written out, and been have plans for a sequel if I get that far. The name Feline Fatael is a reference and will be explained later, but if anyone catches it then, well, aren't you just that awesome? Positive reviews and constructive criticism is always welcome. Enjoy.

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing. All characters and themes, and everything else, belongs to the creators and writers of Young Justice, and the owners of the DC Comics company. All I own are my original characters and plot ideas.

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Feline Fatal

Prologue

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Gotham City: May 30, 15:23 EST

Callis Nicole hated a lot of things: warm weather, cameras, those nasty little perfumes girls her age would get at stores like PINK and Victoria's Secret, but most of all, Callis hated whatever it was that held her back from grabbing her perfectly sharpened pencil and shoving it through her chest. Clearly her loving classmates weren't the ones keeping her form committing suicide by pencil. And neither was her oblivious teacher, , who was so into her lesson that she was unable to notice the students in the row behind Callis using the girl's head as a backboard for their crumbled up, paper basketballs.

The bell signaling the start of eighth period had rung forty-five ago, and Callis still had seven more minutes to withstand the other students using her back as a target.

Gotham Prep was supposed to have an astounding reputation. Only spoiled children with pockets full of their parents money had enough to get into the private academy. However, Callis wasn't blessed with a family who blew off cars like Hotwheels© and played with 100-dollar bills as if they were Monopoly© money. Callis herself was born into a family where she had no choice but enter Gotham Prep through a mix of dedication, determination, sweat, tears, and an endless amount of energy drinks. She was told that by being in Gotham Prep, she would get into better high schools, where she would, in turn, having a better chance of getting into Ivy League colleges.

Education didn't really matter to Callis, though. Actually, it her education didn't matter to her at all. To begin with, Callis didn't even want to be accepted into Gotham Prep, Callis had wanted to remain at her public school, Gotham Middle. The only reason she had bothered to work hard enough to receive the scholarship to the prestigious school was because it was important to her mother. And Callis was never one to deny her mother of anything she wanted.

So, until she was accepted into Yale or Harvard, Callis was stuck with rich kids glaring at her back and the curse of knowing that she could be going to public school with other children just like her. If only she could just say no to her mother. Too bad for Callis, she knew that would never happen.

At that point in time Callis dreaded to think she still had her entire life a head of her.

As another piece of paper hit her in the back, Callis froze, her eyebrow twitching and her pencil dropping out of her hand and rolling on to the ground. Behind her, Callis' classmate giggled, pointing at her and not trying to hide their amusement at her sour expression.

Immediately, Mrs. Sclair whipped around, her ears attuned to anyone who sounded like they weren't paying attention in to her lesson. Callis could feel her teacher's eyes land on her, her cheeks turning an unattractive shade of pink. "Miss Nicole, would you mind telling me what's going on over there?"

"Nothing," Callis responded quickly, causing the kids behind her to snicker. "I just dropped my pencil." She knew better than to turn on her classmates, turning on them would just lead to worse torment later on.

Mrs. Sclair eyed her quizzically, "Alright then, pick it up and try not to disrupt my class again."

Callis nodded, clumsily picking up her pencil, and returned to taking notes, the giggles behind her now quieter but still loud enough for her to hear.

"Anyway, as I was saying..."

The tinny sound of the bell sounded, cutting her teacher off. Callis leapt to her feet, ignoring her teacher's finishing words and picked her backpack up, slinging it over her shoulder and rushing out of the classroom. Callis practically sprinted down the hallway and out the doors while all her other classmates were yet to rise from their seats.

Admittedly, Callis was a little overzealous about the summer. It was her favorite time of the year, she could actually be with her real friends instead of the kids at Goth Prep who only acknowledged her existence when they wanted something from her, whether it be help from their homework or a toy to play with.

Out in the parking lot, Callis scanned the rows of car for the sight of her mother's car. Had her mother been there, it would have only taken her seconds to discern her mother's dark gray KIA from the masses of limousines, Hummers, and SUVs. However, her mother wasn't there, so with a sigh, Callis began on her long trek home to the other side of Gotham.

Thoughts of how awesome her upcoming summer vacation would be worked their way through Callis's mind as she wove through Gotham's streets. Callis knew all the back-roads and allies that she could take to get home the quickest, but instead she opted to take the scenic route, staring into store windows filled with jewelry and clothing she could never hope to afford.

Finally, Callis reached her home. After climbing the stairs, and opening the door to her apartment, she peered around, finding her mother still in hr nurse outfit, cutting up vegetables with a knife.

"Mom, I'm home!" Callis called.

"That good!" her mother replied, not looking up from her work. "Would you mind helping, and get the dishes down and set the table?"

"Sure." Callis dropped her backpack by the door and made her way to the kitchen, barely dodging her mother and opening one of the cabinets above her head. "Two sets of dishes, right? You'll be eating dinner with me tonight?"

Her mother smiled sadly, but continued on with what she was doing. "Of course, what kind of mother would I be if I missed out on dinner with my only child?" She paused, still keeping her eyes down. "For the third time this week..."

"You're doing your job," Callis recited quietly, although inside she was wishing that her mom was home to have dinner with her every night, and to ask her what school was like for her each day and actually care about and listen to the answer. Callis would never say that though, it would only make her mother feel worse, and more than anything, Callis hated it when her mother was upset.

"Go and get started on your homework," her mother said once Callis had set the table. "I'll call you out once I have dinner ready."

"Do I have to?" Callis all but whined.

"Yes, you do," her mother spoke sternly. "School-work comes first. You didn't do all that hard work to get into Gotham Prep to be kicked out."

"No," Callis muttered. "I did it for you."

"What was that?"

"Nothing," Callis said. "I'll go and work on my homework."

"Good," her mother smiled and looked at her for the first time since she had arrived home. "I'm proud of you, you know that?"

Callis nodded, doing her best not to look disappointed. Her mother is home for dinner for the first time that week and she sends Callis away to do schoolwork instead of talking to her.

Grabbing her backpack, Callis dropped it in her room and sat down on her bed. She really didn't feel like doing homework now, not when she had just gotten home and there were so many hours left for her to procrastinate. The work would get done eventually, it always did, but Callis didn't feel like doing it now. She closed her eyes and sighed. Her mother had promised to call her out when dinner was finished, and her mother had only just begun to spill the vegetables into a bowl when she left, so Callis had time. Callis frowned, making a mental note of all the things she had to do when she opened her eyes before she slipped seamlessly into sleep.

…

Callis woke up to the sound of her mother knocking on her door.

"Callis, it's time for dinner," her mother spoke. "Callis, are you awake?"

Callis yawned and looked at the clock. 5:45. She had slept for roughly two hours, and her mother hadn't even noticed the odd silence in the apartment. Her mother probably thought she was so enveloped in her homework or something. Callis sighed, deciding to ignore those thought and just join her mother for dinner. She'd just tell her mother exactly what she wanted to think, that Callis was just lost in her schoolwork. What her mother didn't know couldn't hurt her, right? After all, as long as Callis finished the work by school the next morning, none of that matter anyway.

"I'm awake," Callis said, rubbing her eyes with her hand, and checking herself in the mirror to make herself look more presentable. "I'll be at the table in a second, just let me finish something."

"Just hurry up, okay, I don't want dinner to get cold," Callis' mother shouted through the door.

"Got it." Callis finished fixing her hair and walked out into the small dining room of their apartment. "What did you make?"

"Just some fish I bought at the store earlier, and some cooked vegetables," Callis' mother explained, cutting up her food. "So how was school today?"

"It was good," Callis responded, noticing how awkward a casual talk with her mother was. It was supposed to be that way. Talks with her mom were supposed to be easy. "But I'm really excited for summer break this year. I can't wait to see my friends that go to Gotham Middle. Are we going on vacation this year?"

Callis' mother smiled. "Actually, I was thinking of a road-trip this summer. I would take a two-week vacation and we would go to the Grand Canyon, maybe make a detour to Vegas."

"Really!" Callis was nearly bouncing off the walls at the news. "You mean it?"

"Of course I mean it," Callis' mother told her. "I'm not sure about it yet, sweetie, so don't get too excited."

"Thank you! I can't wait! When I finished I'm gonna go and back! How much should I pack? For two weeks right?" Callis rambled, no longer paying any attention to her food.

"Let's just finish dinner and we can continue this talk later," her mother instructed, but that smile was still there on her face.

"Kay!"

No sooner had Callis said that, had her entire world exploded.

Literally.

Red flashed before her eyes, a sudden gust sending Callis flying forwards. Her chest hit the table with a sickening crunched and a sharp gasp escape her lips from the collision, nearly causing her to black out from the sudden rush of pain. At the same time in front of her, Callis' mother flew backwards, the impact making her mother's eyes go wide before falling shut. Her mother's body tensed, then fell forward, unconscious and on to the ground.

Hunched over the wooden table, Callis watched through half lidded eyea, unable to understand exactly what was going on, as black shapes flooded into her apartment. They rushed over in their direction, completely skipping over Callis and checking on the older woman. After a quick few words were exchanged, they picked her mother up, and one of the shapes, tossed her mother into the air, carrying her mother out of the field of her vision.

Callis wanted to scream, to shout at them to bring her mother back, but her body wasn't listening to her. She could feel no pain and could barely form coherent thoughts. But Callis still knew that they were taking her mother away from her, and Callis wouldn't let them do that.

That's when Callis felt it.

Heat began to fill up her apartment seconds before the fire alarm went off. Callis' eyes snapped open, the pain in her body hitting her full force. Her chest hurt, her head hurt, it hurt to breathe, and there was a fire starting on the other side of her apartment.

Without thinking, Callis pushed herself up, and rushed with all her might out of her apartment. She could feel the warmth of the fire licking her heels as she ran, but as she escaped through the door, nothing else mattered except getting as far away from her apartment as possible. Once she was out and safely on to the street, Callis noticed that her neighbors had also left their apartment and were talking to each other and hushed tones.

Moments passed, and suddenly the gravity of the situation dawned on her. Callis looked back up at her apartment from her position on the sidewalk, watching as firemen raced up to the building, assaulting the fire with hoses. As the flames died away, Callis couldn't help but stare, all the things she had even known had been taken away before her very eyes.

Including her mother.

Tears welled up in her eyes, and she collapsed on to the cement. That was all Callis could do, sit down and cry on the ground and people passed around her. Most didn't notice her and the ones that did pretended they didn't. No one wanted the responsibility of handling the girl who just had everything stripped away from her.

Callis had no idea long it had been, but when she finally brought her head up, the group of people had dispersed and gone back to their own homes. The firemen and their hoses had disappeared having dealt with the fire and finding no more use in being there any longer. By then, it seemed all her tears had dried up, and her chest was in even more pain from her sobs. Callis' cheeks were stained with dried tears and her clothes were in tatters.

Getting off the ground, Callis nearly screamed at the excruciating pain that radiated from her chest, but held herself back. There was no one there to help her, so why should she scream? Besides, maneuvering around her new injury couldn't be that hard.

"It's okay," Callis told herself, doing her best to sound reassuring. There was no once else around that was going to do it for her. "It's gonna be okay."

Callis was unsure of what made her do what she did next, but without her permission, her feet began to drag her forward, and back up to her apartment, all the way to the remnants of a doorway with a charred sign reading, "Home Is Where The Heart Is". A wetness began to pool behind Callis' eyes began, but she shook off the feeling, alternatively choosing to continue on back into her apartment.

It was almost as if she was sleepwalking. Callis trudged into her apartment, she saw everything, felt everything, heard everything, yet not of it made any connection with her brain. For a minute, Callis believed it all to be a dream, that perhaps her mother had never woken her up from her nap and that she was still asleep on her bed. Her mother was still making dinner, and Callis still had loads of homework to do before school the next morning.

But then why were there remnants of her mother's cooked vegetables on the table?

Turning around, Callis continued to her bedroom, where her bedding was burnt to crisps and her backpack filled with homework was now an unrecognizable mess. If her mother was there, no doubt she would have would be worried about that first-and-foremost. The thought almost made Callis laugh. Their home almost burned down and she was sure her mother would be the most worried about her schoolwork.

Next, Callis walked towards the living room. The source of the explosion. Where there was once a television set and couches, there were new ashes and debris. Glass shards laid on the ground in front of where the door to the fire-escape used to be.

Callis ambled out onto the fire escape, doing her best to hang on to the railing that had fallen apart during the explosion. From where Callis stood, she could see most of the lower-class part of Gotham City. Plenty of lights were still on, and the streets were still bustling with life. This was the part of Gotham Callis was sure she belonged in.

Spinning on her heel, Callis almost went back inside when she saw something out of the corner of her eye. Another black shape, just like the ones she had scene in her half-conscious state, rushed along the side of her apartment building, sliding along the side of the building, careful not to be seen, But Callis had seen it.

Callis made a quick decision, climbed down the fire escape and did her best to track down the black shape. Once she was on the ground, Callis followed in the direction that she black shape had gone. There was no doubt in her mind that this black shape, whatever it was, had a connection to the ones that took her mother.

"Hey wait!" Callis called. "Wait up! Hey! Don't run away from me!"

The sound of Callis's voice only encouraged the shadow of a person to quicken their pace, disappearing into an alley between building.

"Stop, wait!"

Callis looked around to check if there was anyone else on the streets. No one was there. It was only her and whoever it was that she was chasing. Ducking into the alley, Callis watched in amazement as the figure jumped a fence with ease, not once slowing their pace.

"Hold on! I just want to talk! Please!"

Callis gritted her teeth together, the metal wires of the fence digging into her hands as she pushed herself over the fence, her heart pounding and chest aching as she landed on the other side. She saw the black figure hurry inside a building, and at that moment Callis realized she had a choice in front of her. She could continue on her chase, her pretend like none of it ever happen, return back to her house and let the authorities take care of the business that really wasn't hers to handle.

There, Callis made the dumbest decision of her life.

"Wait up!"

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**A/N:** So that's the prologue, I hope you guys liked it! I know I don't have the greatest track record on here, and I'm not promising regular updates, especially with sofbtall regionals going on right now and finals coming up. I do promise though, to try and get up at least one chapter every two weeks.

Here I tried to make Callis seemed as young as I imagine her being (around 11 and in sixth grade) in this chapter, and I'd like to know people's opinion on that. Did she act too old for her age? Too young? Is there any other constructive criticism you want to give me? I'd love to hear it. Also, this is the only chapter where Callis will be this young except possibly for flashbacks or the like. In other words, be prepared for a flash forward the next chapter.

I'm also on the look for pictures that are reminiscent of what I think Callis looks like, so if anyone sees one that they think looks like Callis I would love to see it!

- Fast-Road-To-Nowhere


End file.
